Tuesday, November 23, 2004

50 States Mislead Their Voters Part 4

I'm going to try to take a look at election anomalies and accusations of fraud in all fifty states for Election 2004 (if anyone has any news or links...leave a comment or e-mail me...).

ARKANSAS

Republican Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's wife, Janet Huckabee, worked as a poll worker in Pulaski County. Early voting in Arkansas began on October 19th, and Mrs. Huckabee's presence at the Dunbar Community Center drew a number of complaints. "Precinct Election Judge Helen Burr said she believes Huckabee's presence at the polls is a political act. She also said Janet Huckabee wrongly asked a voter to show identification. But Huckabee says her training materials say workers can ask for ID." (KATV.com).

Arkansas Code 7-5-305 regarding voter identification instructs election officials to "Request the voter for purposes of identification to provide a current and valid photo identification or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. If a voter is unable to provide this identification, the election official shall indicate on the precinct voter registration list that the voter did not provide identification." Democratic poll watcher Brian Greer said that while Mrs. Huckabee seemed to know the law well, she still pushed people to show identification. "She was badgering people about why they didn’t have their ID," he said. "She’d get into people’s business and could be kind of rude in the process. Intimidation may not have been her intent, but that was the residual effect," he said. (NWAnews.com).

Governor Huckabee held a news conference in late October where he defended his wife's actions and "the rights of the pollworkers." "Huckabee said Pulaski County election officials have violated state FOI laws and his wife's right to due process by calling a private meeting to consider complaints that she was a distraction at the polling site and was there to intimidate black voters. The governor said he has asked Attorney General Mike Beebe to render an opinion on the commission's action as quickly as possibly. Huckabee said people ought to grateful that his wife wants to volunteer her time, especially when there is a great need for pollworkers. "The broader universe is not about her, it is really about the process of our elections," Huckabee said, adding that the first lady will continue to work at the polls through Tuesday. "Especially in Pulaski County, we want to make sure when people go to vote that not only are the rights of voters protected, but also the rights of the pollworkers ..." (Arkansasnews.com).

In June, Mrs. Huckabee "joined Arkansas State Representative Cecile Bledsoe, Surrogate Events Chairwoman for Arkansas Bush-Cheney '04 Deena Burnett and Bush-Cheney '04 supporters to announce the Bush-Cheney '04 Arkansas "W Stands for Women" Leadership Team in Rogers, Arkansas." "To ensure our place and progress in America and in the world remain firm, we must continue to support President Bush and his commitment to women's issues. President Bush will depend on his leadership team in Arkansas to highlight his positive record of achievement and to aid his reelection effort this November," said Huckabee. (Georgewbush.com).

In 2002, Janet Huckabee ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of State, while her husband ran for reelection as governor. If Mrs. Huckabee had won, she and her husband would have controlled two of three seats on the panel that draws the state's political boundaries. In a New York Times article, Janet Huckabee dismissed concerns from critics about the dual campaigns: "If it wasn’t for the grace of God, I’d have shot a few people already," she said. "Jesus wasn’t liked either. And Jesus was mistreated and called names." (Daily Kos)

Former Southern Baptist minister Mike Huckabee served as the chairman of Redeem the Vote's advisory committee. "Dr Randy Brinson and his wife Pam, founded Redeem the Vote in December 2003. During the last 8 months, their organization mobilized thousands of evangelicals, youth, Catholics, and Jewish organizations through the internet, concerts, Christian music festivals, and video emails with Christian artists and Jim Caviezel, star of the Passion of the Christ. It is estimated that over 2.5 million voters were moved to participate in the election through the RTV media and Internet campaign." (Redeemthevote.com).

"It wasn’t like Ohio, but Arkansan voters cast provisional ballots across the state in Tuesday’s election. In many cases, they voted provisionally unnecessarily, causing confusion and anger for many voters and extra work for election officials. Unlike Ohio, where approximately 150,000 provisional ballots figured prominently in the presidential contest between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, the exact number of such ballots used in Arkansas is not known." (NWAhomes.com).

"A computer glitch skewed results from the JP District 2 race between Rocky Whitely and Duane Coatney. It is believed that the programming alignment was out of kilter, as provided by Election Systems and Software, the company that programs computer chips to read the local ballots." (Greenforesttribune.com).

"Before he became vice president of Elections Systems and Software, Tom Eschberger was accused by Arkansas authorities of colluding with then-Arkansas Secretary of State Bill McCuen [Democrat] to sell used voting machines that Eschberger's former employer, Business Records Corp., had received in trade. Eschberger was granted immunity in exchange for a deposition he gave state prosecutors. McCuen pleaded guilty in 1995 to political corruption and related charges and served two years in prison." (Stimson.homestead.com).

"Lisa Burks, an election activist, writes, "Unfortunately Arkansas still uses the ES&S machines sold by the corrupt vendor in our elections. We have had major problems with their optical scanners, including misprogrammed computer chips during our recent May 18th primary. Even so, some of Arkansas' machines were reconditioned and sold to Florida, where they remain still." (Usenet).

Remote sites in Pulaski County were not provided with enough provisional ballots when early voting started on October 19. "Remote sites for early voting in Pulaski County do not have provisional ballots, so voters whose ballots are challenged have no way to vote. Elections director Susan Inman says challenged voters will be directed to the county courthouse to cast disputed ballots until provisional ballots can be delivered to seven satellite voting locations." (Katv.com).

The Republican National Committee sent out a mailer warning Arkansas residents that liberals were working to ban the bible, legalize gay marriage and overturn the ban on the "hideous procedure known as Partial Birth Abortion." On the envelope there is a picture of two (presumedly) gay men holding hands. (Steve Clemons.com, Chuckcurrie.blogs.com).

Contributors

"Or take this guy, Ron Brynaert, a tenacious (lefty, stand alone) investigator with an instinct for where information and proof and the jugular are. He's a natural: Why isn't he on someone's I-team?" Jay Rosen, June 6, 2005.